Prep sports will return in the fall. Hopefully. (David Stern photo)
It’s over before it began.
There will be no prep spring sports season in Washington state in 2020.
No high school softball games. No middle school track meets. No Senior Nights.
As the world battles the coronavirus pandemic, things we took for granted have had to be reevaluated.
Hard decisions have had to be made.
And public health concerns have had to rightfully carry the day.
Governor Jay Inslee and state Superintendent of Public Instruction Chris Reykdal held a joint news conference Monday, announcing schools will remain shuttered through the end of the 2019-2020 school year.
The closure, which effects 1.2 million students, covers all public, private, and charter schools. It will go through June 19, and could continue through the summer and into the fall.
Washington is the 14th state to close schools for the entire year.
In-person classes and recreation on school grounds are banned, but school-sponsored child care, nutrition programs, and other social services can continue.
Schools are encouraged to continue providing distance learning.
Prior to Monday’s press conference, the plan had been for schools to remain closed until April 24, with students returning April 27 after a six-week shutdown.
Inslee recently extended his Stay Home, Stay Healthy order out through May 4, however, with the caveat it might have to go further.
That made the April return date unworkable.
Previously, the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association, the governing body for school sports, had help out hope a shortened spring season might be held if students returned to school by late April or early May.
State championships, which were set to finish Saturday, May 30, were not going to be pushed out to later months, so as not to potentially conflict with graduation ceremonies.
Monday’s announcement, however, erases the last bit of hope for any kind of season being played.
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